glimpses of early dickinson county · michigan territory map, 1822 this map of michigan territory...

163
GLIMPSES OF EARLY DICKINSON COUNTY by William J. Cummings March, 2004

Upload: nguyenhuong

Post on 30-Jul-2018

217 views

Category:

Documents


0 download

TRANSCRIPT

GLIMPSES OF

EARLY

DICKINSON

COUNTY

by William J. Cummings

March, 2004

Evolution of

Michigan from

Northwest

Territory to

Statehood

From 1787 to 1800 the lands now comprising Michigan were a part of the Northwest

Territory. From 1800 to 1803 half of what is now the Lower Peninsula of Michigan and all of

the Upper Peninsula were part of Indiana Territory. From 1803 to 1805 what is now

Michigan was again part of the Northwest Territory which was smaller due to Ohio achieving

statehood on March 1, 1803. From 1805 to 1836 Michigan Territory consisted of the Lower

Peninsula and a small portion of the eastern Upper Peninsula. In 1836 the lands comprising

the remainder of the Upper Peninsula were given to Michigan in exchange for the Toledo

Strip.

Michigan Territory Map, 1822

This map of Michigan Territory

appeared in A Complete

Historical, Chronological and

Geographical American Atlas

published by H.S. Carey and I. Lea

in Philadelphia in 1822. Note the

lack of detail in the northern

Lower Peninsula and the Upper

Peninsula which were largely

unexplored and inhabited by

Native Americans at this time.

Wiskonsan and Iowa, 1838

Michigan and Wiskonsan, 1840

VULCAN – A number of Indians – men, women and

children – came into town Wednesday last from Bad Water

[sic] for the purpose of selling berries, furs, etc., having with

them a lot of regular Indian ponies. They make a novel picture

as they go along one after the other, looking more like Indians

we read about than those usually seen in civilization, and are

always looked upon in wonderment by strangers, though it has

long since lost its novelty to the residents here. –The

Menominee Ranger

The Iron Port, Escanaba, Mich.

August 9, 1879

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Tom King

Tom “Wildcat” King

(1830-1910)

Mrs. Tom (Josephine) King

RANGE ITEMS.

--The Chippewas, 300 strong, held their annual pow-

wow at Chicagoan [sic] lake last week. – Menominee Range.

The Iron Port, Escanaba, Delta County, Mich.

June 9, 1883

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Menominee Joe and Jerome

Dakota

Menominee Joe (left) and Jerome Dakota, Indians from the Badwater Indian village, paddled their

birchbark canoe near Eagle Island in the Spread Eagle Chain of Lakes, Wisconsin, during the

summer of 1896. The canoe is similar to birchbark canoes sold by the Badwater Indians at a cost

of one dollar per foot.

SAGOLA NEWS GOSSIP

Edw. Ryan is putting up a new building at Randville on

the Tom King property, which he recently purchased. The

building is 24 x 53 feet in size and will be divided into two

store rooms, one to be a grocery store and the other a saloon.

Iron Mountain Press, Iron Mountain, Dickinson Co., Mich.

Thursday, June 25, 1908

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Badwater Burial Ground

Edwin Trestrail, son of William C. Trestrail, posed by an Indian grave at the burial ground at

Badwater near the Big Bend of the Menominee River in about 1922-1923. William C.

Trestrail acquired the property February 19, 1912, and named it Riverview Farm. Edwin J.

Trestrail acquired the property from his father May 25, 1925. When the Ford Dam was built

this land was flooded by the backwater.

James S. Dickey James S. (pictured here) and William

Dickey, among Dickinson County’s

earliest pioneers, established their trading

post on Section 34, Town 40 North of

Range 30 West (northeast of Quinnesec)

in about 1871, trading with the Indians

and providing basic supplies to early

explorers. Almost all contemporary

accounts mention stopping at Dickey’s on

the old State Road until about 1880, when

the Dickey brothers pursued other

occupations.

William Dickey settled in Norway in

1880, where he established a livery stable

and blacksmith shop. By April, 1885,

William Dickey had a livery stable in

Marinette, Wisconsin, and James S.

Dickey was farming in the Iron River

area. The Dickey brothers later moved

out West.

George Frederick Seibert

Arrived at Dickey’s at 6:30 [p.m.] and was not

favorably impressed by the outside appearance,

but found myself mistaken in my estimate of the

place. We got a splendid supper and found a very

pleasant woman in Mrs. Dickey...Had a smoke and

was standing in the store...when two Redmen came

in and commenced talking with the Dickeys. The

only thing I understood was “kee win” (no friend).

The Dickeys being traders and buyers of furs

spoke the Indian dialect fluently, and kept up a

conversation for over half an hour with them. The

Indians took some crackers and drank some -- gin,

I think it was, and then made as they would go, but

they hung around for a long time even after we

went to bed. The Dickeys, I think, are very nice

people, but I don’t think they would scruple at

anything to make money. The selling of liquor to

Indians is punished severely, but they did it. They

have furs of all kinds in their store, fisher, otter,

beaver, lynx, mink, fox, etc. They keep overalls,

cigars, tobacco, pipes, whisky, prints, and

groceries. Store is small, but large enough to do

all their trading with the Reds.

George Frederick Seibert, pioneer Iron

Mountain druggist, recorded his stop at

Dickey’s Trading Post in his journal during

a trip up the Menominee River in 1879. His

entry for May 6th, Sunday morning, read in

part:

The contract for building the Extension to the

Menominee iron range has been let by the C. & N.W.R.R. Co.,

to Featherly & Farnsworth of Green Bay. They are to

commence work immediately.

The Escanaba Tribune, Escanaba, Delta County, Mich.

February 22, 1873

P.M. Brown is clearing away a lot at section 42, or

Power’s Station, for the purpose of erecting a hotel. The

junction of the Menominee Range Road will be there.

The Escanaba Tribune, Escanaba, Delta County, Mich.

March 15, 1873

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

About 150 men at work on the Menominee Range

railroad struck for higher wages last Tuesday, and after

proceeding to “42” met some 60 laborers who had just come

in on the train from the south. These gave such an

unfavorable account of matters outside, that the most of the

men went back to work again at the same wages. They were

getting $1.25 a day and were paying $3.50 for board but

wished their wages were raised to $1.50, a demand which was

not complied with.

The Escanaba Tribune, Escanaba, Mich.

April 21, 1877

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Railroad Gang, ca. 1877

Possibly the Menominee River Railroad Gang, ca. 1877

One Hundred Men Wanted

Contractor D.L. Wells placed this

advertisement in the October 20, 1877,

edition of The Iron Port, as the building of

the Menominee River Railroad continued

westward, opening up the Menominee Iron

Range.

Menominee Iron Range Map

The Menominee Iron Range spanned about 60 miles, extending from Waucedah on the east to

Iron River on the west. J.F. Hanst’s map appeared in Volume XXI of the Lake Superior Mining

Institute Proceedings (1916-1917) and located mines then in operation. The Chicago & North-

Western Railroad branch line traveling northwest from Powers in Menominee County connected

the mines with Escanaba, a Lake Michigan iron port.

Chapin Mine, Iron Mountain,

Spring, 1880

From 1787

Between 1880 and 1932, the Chapin shipped 27,506,868 tons of iron ore, accounting for fully

one-third of Dickinson County’s entire iron ore production. While the Chapin maintained its

title as the Menominee Range’s leading producer, only Ironwood’s Norrie-Aurora-Pabst Mine

on the Gogebic Range, shipping over 53,802,000 tons from 1885 to 1935, surpassed the

Chapin’s production in the Upper Peninsula.

Chapin Mine, Iron Mountain,

1880

Another early view of the Chapin Mine, also supposedly dating to 1880, shows

considerable growth. A more substantial shaft housing has been erected, and many new

mining buildings appear in the background.

Miner’s Strike

Handbill

When Iron Mountain was scarcely four years old, the first

miners’ strike on the Menominee Iron Range occurred

after the management of the Chapin and Ludington mines

posted an order requiring miners to work an additional

five hours on Saturday evening, instead of finishing the

work week at 6 p.m.

According to Superintendent C.H. Cady of the Chapin

Mine, the issue at stake was an order issued from his

office requiring the men to work the number of hours each

day that they were paid for. The men had been in the

habit of coming out of the mine long enough before the

whistle blew at noon to change their clothes, and not

coming back to prepare for going into the mine until 1

o’clock, thus using an hour or more of time belonging to

the company for purposes of their own. This order also

required them to work from 6 till 11 o’clock p.m.

Saturdays.

The men refused to comply with the order, and by their

action closed the mine. The owners intended to operate

the mine that winter solely for the purpose of furnishing

the men employment and enabling them to support their

families. Cady wanted them to pay the consequences for

stopping work at the mine..

Ludington Mine Officials

These mining officials from Iron Mountain’s Ludington Mine posed for H.S. Emory, an

Appleton, Wis., photographer, sometime between 1883 and 1890. They are identified as follows:

(back row) William B. Catlin, surface boss; Robert Bankes, cashier and later superintendent;

A.D. Moore, superintendent; Harry McDermott, master mechanic; Francis A. Brown, chief

chemist; Sam Spear, bookkeeper; (front row) Captain Grey; Captain Sam Langdon; Captain

Henry Shields; Morris Danielson, blacksmith; Tom Hancock, carpenter.

200 Block Stephenson Avenue,

Jenkins Hotel

In this view the camera is facing north on Stephenson Avenue in the mid-1880’s, about the time of

the Miners’ Strike. The view shows the east side of the 200 block, where the First National Bank is

now located. William H. Jenkins opened his hotel at the corner of South Stephenson Avenue and

East Ludington Street in early November, 1881. The three-story frame hotel was considered among

the city’s finest, rooms renting for $2.00 per day in 1885. The fourth building from the corner,

advertising dry goods and clothing, was probably Charles E. Parent’s store, one of the first in the

village.

300 Block Stephenson Avenue,

Schuldes & C.

Taken in the last half of the 1880’s, this photograph, looking south, shows buildings on the east side

of the 300 block of South Stephenson Avenue. The sign on the first building on the left, located at the

southeast corner of the intersection with East Ludington Street, reads City Hotel. A small sign

between this building and the next advertises a dressmaker. The second store, at 305 South

Stephenson Avenue, was a general store operated by Charles Schuldes and Emil Carriere between

1885 and 1889. Their advertising banner stretches across the street. The tall pine at the right stands

where the intersection with East A Street would be today, and beyond is forest and swamp.

Freezing of D Shaft, Chapin

Mine, 1888

Engineer George Thomas, of the Poetsch Sooysmith Company, of New York, supervised the freezing

process used to sink D shaft of the Chapin Mine through over 90 feet of rock and loose sand. The

process began in the late fall of 1888, and, after 15 days of freezing, the excavation of the shaft began,

reaching the ledge 135 days later. This historic photograph of the freezing process records what may

have been the first such attempt in the United States. The shaft was sunk inside the circle of pipes in a

cylinder of frozen ground measuring 50 feet in diameter. In the background, the air pipe carrying

compressed air from the Hydraulic Power Company at the Upper Quinnesec Falls to the Chapin and

Ludington mines to run machinery towered over the buildings.

Diagram of

Cornish Pumping

Engine, ca.1892

Designed by Edwin Reynolds of the Edward P. Allis & Company, in Milwaukee, Iron Mountain’s

Cornish pumping engine was first started on Tuesday, January 3, 1893 at 2:20 p.m. A few months later

President Grover Cleveland pressed the button which started the 3,000 horsepower horizontal

quadruple-expansion Reynolds-Corliss engine on exhibit at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in

Chicago. This engine, “Pride of Machinery Hall,” had a flywheel 30 feet in diameter [10 feet less than

his Iron Mountain engine] which drove two Westinghouse 750 kilowatt alternators supplying the

current for 20,000 16-candlepower incandescent lamps throughout the fairgrounds in Chicago.

Reynolds received national and worldwide recognition for his outstanding achievements in engine

design and construction.

This view of the Chapin Mine’s D shaft complex, looking east, was probably taken between 1893 and

1896. Two tramways exit the shaft housing’s mid-point. A steam locomotive appears to be pushing

four cars directly below, in front of the vast stockpiles. To the right of the sandstone engine house and

across the street, on North Stephenson Avenue, some of the Chapin Mining Company’s shops are

visible. The Millie Mine, originally the Hewitt, can faintly be seen directly above and slightly to the

left of the shaft housing near the crest of Millie Hill, with Pewabic Hill rising in the background. The

Hydraulic Power Company’s air pipe appears at the lower right, extending west to the Ludington shaft

and northwest to the Hamilton shaft.

Original Building Housing Cornish Pumping Engine

C Ludington Shaft, 1912

Dated October 19, 1912, this view of the C Ludington shaft, facing east, shows the shaft housing

which rose 114 feet above the collar. The chutes to the left allowed ore cars, like those pictured, to be

loaded directly, as the ore came up in the tram cars on the hoist. The cage in which the men

descended and ascended can be seen at the lower left of the shaft housing. The pump house, covering

the Cornish pumping engine where it still stands today, was sheathed in corrugated metal and rested

on a red sandstone foundation. A pipe can be seen leading from the boiler house to the pump house,

feeding steam to the gigantic engine. Another railroad track passed between these two buildings.

Cornish Pumping Engine Interior

CORNISH PUMPING ENGINE

STATISTICS

Engine Height……...54 Feet Above Floor

Engine Length……..75 Feet from Back of

Flywheel to End of Pump Bob

Engine Weight………………….725 Tons

High Pressure Cylinder……...50 Inches in

Diameter

High Pressure Head……………...10 Tons

Low Pressure Cylinder…….100 Inches in

Diameter

Low Pressure Cylinder Head…….17 Tons

Stroke of Pistons………………….10 Feet

Flywheel....40 Feet in Diameter; 160 Tons

Flywheel Rim...24 Inches Thick and Wide

Cost of Engine Alone…………....$82,500

Iron Mountain’s Pewabic Mine, located east of Millie Hill on Pewabic Hill, opened in 1887. This

photograph was taken shortly thereafter and facing north, shows the extensive tramway leading

from the early wooden shaft. Several ore cars have passed under the tramway and have been loaded

from the ore pocket. The men standing in front of the ore cars nearest the tramway help provide a

visual scale by which to measure these immense mining structures. Judging from the logs to the left

of the picture, the mine’s sawmill must have been located to the left of the shaft.

Pewabic Mine, 1887

Of the survivors of the October 25, 1894, Pewabic Mine accident, only two men in the back

row have been positively identified. They are William Beard, at the extreme left, and Peter

Hallberg, third from left. The names of the remaining men are Stephen Allen, John Forrell,

Samuel Husband, George Marcous, William Oliver, Thomas Penglase, George Rickard, John

Thomas and George Wilcox.

Pewabic Mine Accident

Survivors, 1894

William A. Holmes & Son

Logging Crew, ca.1885

A William A. Holmes & Son logging crew has just finished loading a narrow gauge railway car,

probably somewhere east of the Michigamme River in the mid-1880’s. William A. Holmes is standing

fourth from the left in front of the carload of logs. Tom King, a Chippewa Indian who lived in and

around Dickinson County for many years, is seated on the log, holding his hat against his leg with his

left hand. The lumberjack behind King with his foot resting on the log and a cant hook over his left

shoulder is Patrick “Paddy” Costigan.

William A. Holmes & Son

Logging Crew, 1886

In 1886, William A. Holmes & Son were logging just across what became the Dickinson County line

in Section 26 of Township 43 North, Range 31 West. Section 36 is located east of the Michigamme

River, an area in which Holmes & Son logged extensively between 1881 and 1893. Notice the

primitive narrow gauge steam engine, a 9-ton wood burner, which was used to pull carloads of pine

logs.

RANGE ITEMS.

--K.S. Buck shot at a lynx from his seat in a cutter.

The shot scared his horse and in pulling on the lines he

discharged his pistol (self-cocking) and killed the horse. -

Range.

The Iron Port, Escanaba, Mich.

April 11, 1885

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Substantial, well-cooked meals were essential to the lumberjacks, who worked long, hard hours

outdoors in all kinds of weather. This logging crew paused before their meal in the cook shanty

of Camp Three in Breen Township sometime during the mid-teens. Tin cups placed upside

down upon tin plates in the same position marked each setting at the sawbuck table.

Graniteware coffeepots filled with the preferred beverage were also in readiness. The cook at

the left sat on a part of a primitive sink needed to wash all the dirty tableware after each meal.

Note the pole rafters supporting the rough-sawn boards above.

Cook Shanty Interior, Camp

Three, Breen Township, ca. 1915

The crew at the Jauquet Brothers logging camp, pictured here in February, 1905, posed in front of the

bunkhouse located in Section 24, Township 43 North of Range 30 West in Sagola Township. The

first man at the left in the front row was David Curtis. The Jauquet brothers (Frank, Hubert, Clem

and John) and their sister Mary, holding her son, were also sitting in the front row.

Jauquet Brothers Logging Camp,

February, 1905

Jauquet Brothers Sprinkler Sled

Sprinkler sleds like this one at the Jauquet Brothers logging camp in Sagola Township were used to

make ice roads to facilitate hauling loads of logs.

The above chart appears on page 55 of Logs on the Menominee: The History of the

Menominee River Boom Company by Fred C. Burke. This book was published in Marinette,

Wisconsin, in 1946. The chart shows a few of the nicknames, side marks, end marks and

catch marks used in logging on the Menominee River.

Lumberjacks used stamping hammers to mark the logs which were floated down the river

during the spring drive and then sorted out by company at the boom company so payment

could be accurately made.

Mill Company Log Marks

Log Drive Camp on the

Menominee River, ca. 1890

Taken near Hydraulic Falls in about 1890, this photograph shows a typical log drive camp. Note the

cook tent and the large kettles steaming over open fires. At the right is the air pipe, 24 inches in

diameter, which served the Chapin and Ludington mines with compressed air to work machinery,

running nearly three miles from the Hydraulic Power Company to Iron Mountain. A favorite

pasttime for several generations was “walking the pipe” to the falls and back.

Log Jam on Menominee River,

1899

Maude Gee (standing) and Jamie Gee, Jeffie Whitehead and John Bush posed for the photographer

on a huge log jam near either the Upper or Lower Quinnesec Falls of the Menominee River on April

23, 1889. Log jams were common during the spring drive, and getting the logs moving again was

dangerous and tested the lumberjacks’ skills with a peavy, cant hook and balance.

A short article in the April 14, 1892 edition of The Iron Range, an Iron Mountain newspaper noted:

SCORES of people have visited Quinnesec falls the past week to see the immense log jam there,

which extended from the Hydraulic works to within a short distance of the railroad bridge. A force

of men were employed blasting the ice and breaking the jam, and succeeded in starting the logs last

Tuesday. It is estimated that there were 6,000,000 feet in the jam.

Since 1868 to the present time (1916) there has been a gradual

falling off in the number of feet banked on the river and in size of the

logs. There have been spurts, when years were greater than previous

ones, but on the whole there has been a gradual falling off.

Including the season just closed and from 1868 there have been

10,794,749,178 feet of timber sent down the Menominee river. The

largest year was in 1889 when 642,138,318 feet were floated. The

smallest year was in 1914, the total being 22,734,190 feet. Last year

there was a sudden spurt over 1914, 23,474,222 feet having been

banked.

The passing of the large timber is also seen in the figures of the

Boom company. For instance, in 1888, the average log which came

down the river had 192 feet of lumber in it. The average in 1913 and

1915 was but thirty-eight feet.

Iron Mountain Press, Iron Mountain, Mich.

Thursday, January 13, 1916

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Map Dickinson County

Formation When the Michigan Legislature

established Dickinson County on

May 21, 1891, six townships were

taken from Marquette County to

form the northern and a portion of

the eastern border. A rectangle of

six townships adjoining those

taken from Marquette County were

taken from Iron County to form the

remainder of the northwest portion

of the county. The southern half of

the county was taken from

Menominee County. Dickinson

County is Michigan’s youngest

county.

Donald M. Dickinson

From 1787

Donald M. Dickinson

(1846-1917)

Donald McDonald Dickinson, the man

for whom Dickinson County was

named, was the second Michigan

Democrat -- the first being Lewis Cass

-- to rise to a position of national

political importance. He had a close

and enduring political and personal

friendship with President Grover

Cleveland, who requested Dickinson

accept the position of postmaster-

general of Michigan in 1888.

Dickinson served until the close of the

Cleveland administration in 1889.

Born in New York, Dickinson was

raised in Michigan, attending school in

Detroit and graduating from the

University of Michigan Law School in

1867. He gained a reputation of being

one of the leading lawyers of the

Midwest and was frequently called

upon to argue cases before the Supreme

Court of the United States.

Breen Township Organized March 16, 1867

Part of Menominee County

SETTLEMENTS

Calumet Mine, 1882

Foster City, 1884

Hardwood, 1884

Hylas, C&NW R.R. Station

Spruce, C&NW R.R. Station

Breen Township

Bartley Breen

Bartley Breen

(1834-1901)

Bartley and Thomas Breen, brothers for whom

Breen Township was named, were born in

New Brunswick, Canada. As children they

moved with their parents to Menominee,

Michigan, their father arriving in 1849 and

their mother and the children arriving the

following year.

The brothers worked as timber cruisers before

enlisting in the Civil War. Following the war

they resumed their occupation and in 1866

discovered an outcropping of iron ore which

became the Breen Mine, located in Waucedah.

In 1872 the Breen Mining Company was

incorporated with a capital stock of $500,000.

The mine was situated on 120 acres of land.

Thomas retired from timber cruising and

exploring for iron ore in 1886, never married,

and was still living in Menominee in 1920.

Bartley defeated Joseph Fleshiem for a seat in

the Michigan House of Representatives in the

fall of 1886, serving one term (1887-1888).

He moved his family to Chicago in about

1892, and died there in November, 1901.

A new station called Foster City has been opened on

the Peninsula division of the C. & N.W. railroad. It is located

about five miles from Metropolitan.

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

Saturday, November 7, 1885

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Morgan Lumber and Cedar Company Sawmill, Foster City, ca. 1905

Foster City - Morgan Cedar &

Lumber Co., 1905

Foster City - Morgan Cedar &

Lumber Co., 1910

Taken in about 1910 across the millpond, this overall view shows Foster City’s Morgan Lumber

and Cedar Company’s sawmill complex. The white building just to the left of center bearing the

company’s name was the company store. The sawmill itself, complete with its cone-shaped

sawdust burner, is at the right. The superintendent lived in the large residence directly above the

company store, while the boardinghouse to the right housed many employees.

Foster City, Morgan Lumber

Company Store, ca. 1910

Morgan Lumber & Cedar Company Store, Foster City, ca. 1910

The calendar reads April, 1914, in this photograph showing the meat market of the Company

store in Foster City. Joe Kelly, the butcher, stands behind the counter near the scale. Note the

hams hanging at the left and the spool of string hanging above the counter ready to secure

packages wrapped in butcher paper.

Foster City, Morgan Co. Store

Meat Market, 1914

Foster City – Morgan Co. Store

General Merchandise

Department, 1914

Again in the Company store, employees and customers posed for the camera in the general

merchandise section. Pictured from left to right are Mrs. Joe Kelly, Joe Kelly, one of the Hansen

men, Mrs. Preston and Julie Lesnick.

Foster City Residents Returning

from Picnic, ca.1901-1902

These Foster City residents were returning from a picnic at Norway Lake when this photograph

was taken in about 1901-1902. The cone-shaped sawdust burner from the Morgan Lumber and

Cedar Company’s sawmill can be seen in the distance between the heads of the two horses at the

left. Houses on Boarding House Hill can also be seen in the background and the little schoolhouse

is barely visible at the upper right.

Many Bounties.

Claims for bounties were audited by County Clerk

Quarnstrom as follows during the past ten days: William J.

Grill, of Ralph, three wolves and three wildcats; Fred

Tewelleger [ sic - Terwilliger], of Floodwood, four wolves;

John Walker, of Foster City, three wolves; James Parent, of

Foster City, four wolves; George Sterling, of Foster City, five

wildcats.

Iron Mountain Press, Iron Mountain, Dickinson Co., Mich.

June 20, 1907

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

The Parkinson Lumber and Cedar Company established its mill in Hardwood shortly before

the turn of the last century. This interior view -- which may have been taken as early as 1898

-- shows a log in the carriage approaching the bandsaw at the right. Those identified include,

from left to right, Olaf Olson, Louis Siegler, Sr., John LaLonde, unidentified and John

Anderson, a brother of Andrew Filback, who changed his surname. The others, including the

sawyer standing in front, are unidentified.

Hardwood - Parkinson

Hardwood was established in 1884 by the Menominee Hardwood and Shingle Company. Its post

office was established July 23, 1891, with James J. Walton serving as postmaster.

Dating about 1909, this photo shows the Hardwood saloon and hotel. Axel Pearson and John

Anderson posed with the team and wagon stopped in front of the saloon. The other three men

pictured were Jack McKaskel, bartender, Andrew Johnson and Emanuel Peronto.

Hardwood – Saloon and Hotel,

ca. 1909

Hylas – Oxen Used in Logging at

Michael Kenny Farm

Taken during the first decade of the twentieth century at the Michael Kenny farm at Hylas, Breen

Township, this photograph documents the use of oxen in logging operations in Dickinson County.

The pair of oxen hitched to the bobsled in the background pulled a straight load of logs while the

horses behind pulled a sprinkler used in building ice roads to allow logging sleds to move along

more easily.

Breitung Township

Breitung Township Organized March 16, 1867

Part of Menominee County

SETTLEMENTS

Breitung, 1920

East Breitung, 1924

East Kingsford, 1924

Ferndale, 1920

Granite Bluff, 1890

Iron Mountain, 1879

Kingsford, 1923

Lake Antoine, 1890

Merriman, 1892

Quinnesec, 1877

Randville, 1890

Richardsburg, 1917

West Breitung, 1920

Youngs, 1911

Edward S.

Breitung

Edward S. Breitung

(1831-1887)

Edward S. Breitung, for whom the Breitung Mine

and mining location (now Vulcan) and Breitung

Township were named, was born November 10,

1831, in Germany. He emigrated to the United

States in 1849, settling in Richland, Kalamazoo

County, Michigan, where he attended district

schools to learn English. He clerked in a grocery

store in Kalamazoo for two years, and went to

Detroit in 1851, spending the next four years

there as a bookkeeper.

Breitung located in Marquette in May, 1855,

opening a small clothing store. He soon also

began buying and selling mineral lands. In 1859

we went to Negaunee to take charge of the store

owned by one of the large iron companies there.

In 1864 he sold out his mercantile business,

giving his entire attention to mining and mining

interests.

In the fall of 1871 he began to develop the famed

Republic Mine, and in 1873 commenced

explorations on the Menominee Iron Range,

continuing here for three years. He also had

interests in the Vermillion Range in Minnesota

and in gold and silver mining in Colorado.

QUINNESEC – The RANGER learns that the site for a

new village has been selected some five miles west of this, and

that it has already been staked off into lots. As the road

progresses westward we may look for a number of towns to

spring up, but where the chief city of the range is to be is yet a

matter of conjecture. – The Menominee Ranger

The Mining Journal, Marquette, Marquette Co., Mich.

November 8, 1879

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

[Menominee Range.]

--The new town west of this place, near the Chapin

mine, is to be called Iron Mountain City. – The Menominee

Ranger

The Mining Journal, Marquette, Marquette Co., Mich.

November 22, 1879

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

QUINNESEC

A few miles west of here is the new town of Iron

Mountain City. It is located in the vicinity of the Chapin and

Ludington mines, and already several buildings are up and a

few branches of business represented. Early in the spring the

railroad will be completed, and this embryo city will become a

place of considerable notoriety. – The Menominee Ranger

The Mining Journal, Marquette, Marquette Co., Mich.

January 24, 1880

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

QUINNESEC

Iron city [Iron Mountain] is getting to be a place of

considerable note. The iron mines in that vicinity promise to

be immense, the quality of the ore being equal to any found on

the range. – The Menominee Ranger

The Mining Journal, Marquette, Marquette County, Mich.

February 7, 1880

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Iron Mountain Chapin Mine

Location,1880

This photograph may have been taken from near the Ludington Mine looking down to what is now

the east side of the Chapin Pit, where the settlement known as the Chapin Location -- also Section 30

-- began to grown as Iron Mountain. Building operations began at both the mine location and the

newly-platted townsite in early winter 1879-1880.

The large, two-story white building at the right was the Menominee Mining Company Store for the

Chapin Mine. The company also operated stores in Vulcan, Norway, Quinnesec and Florence,

Wisconsin. Most of the larger mining companies operated stores at which their employees could

trade on credit. At the end of the month their bills were subtracted from their wages and they

received the balance in cash -- if there was one.

RANGE ITEMS.

--Highwaymen, near Iron Mountain City, on Thursday

night last, attacked George Donaldson and beat and kicked

him in an unsuccessful attempt to rob him. They then attacked

Matt. Murray, breaking his arm and stealing his watch and

pocketbook containing $50. The robbers are still at large. –

Chronicle, 31st. [The Chronicle, Norway, July 31, 1880] – The

Menominee Ranger

The Mining Journal, Marquette, Marquette Co., Mich.

August 7, 1880

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Rundle Bros. And Seibert’s Drug

Store with Band, mid-1880’s

An early Iron Mountain band posed in front of Rundle Bros. Hardware and Seibert’s Drug Store on

the east side of the 300 block of South Stephenson Avenue during the mid-1880’s. George F.

Seibert took over as sole manager of the former Schaller & Co. Drug Store in mid-March, 1884.

Thomas and Alfred J. Rundle were selling hardware and mining supplies from their two-story

frame building by 1885. By the end of the decade the Rundle brothers had moved to their opera

house building at 105-107 West Ludington Street, where the Iron Mountain Post Office now stands.

The opera house was on the second floor and the hardware store below.

-- The epidemic of typhoid fever which has infested

Iron Mountain for some time seems to be somewhat under

control, and it is hoped the crisis has been passed. The

sanitary condition of the town is fearful, and if it is not soon

corrected much injury to the business interests of the town will

accrue.

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

Saturday, October 29, 1887

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Iron Mountain’s new Chicago and North-Western Railway Depot, located on the west side of the

300 block of South Stephenson Avenue (now Stevens Decorating), was opened to the public

Sunday, December 22, 1889. A flagman’s house at the Hughitt Street crossing is in the

foreground and a similar building toward the center of the photograph served as a shelter for

policemen. Farther down the street on the same side is the original sandstone building that first

housed the Cornish Pumping Engine. The sandstone water tank with its dome can be seen on the

horizon and at the extreme left is a corner of the Fisher Block, built in 1891, which originally

housed the Commercial Bank.

C. & N.W. Depot on Stephenson

Avenue, ca. mid-1890’s

Evergreen Arch on East B Street,

1891

The evergreen arch which crossed East B Street near the Chicago & North-Western Railway

tracks in this historic photograph was erected for the celebration of Dickinson County’s

formation held on Saturday, June 13, 1891. The day before William H. Hancock’s six-year-

old son, who was watching the workmen erect the arch, was run down while attempting to

escape from a speeding delivery wagon. The Milwaukee & Northern Railway Depot is at

the left, the Commercial Hotel is in the center and Charles E. Parent’s house can be seen

toward the end of the south side of the 100 block. The two-story building at the right within

the arch was called the McKinney Flats and contained a number of stores. The building to

the right of the arch is the Central House, located at 106 East B Street.

TALK about rapid driving, J.W. Molloy, the livery man

at Florence, Wis., drove to Iron Mountain, Mich., on Monday,

in one hour and fifteen minutes. The distance is thirteen miles

by rail and about fifteen miles by wagon road. Jack says he

doesn’t allow any one to throw dust in his face.

The Iron Range, Iron Mountain, Mich.

Thursday, July 14, 1892

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

300 Block of Stephenson Avenue

with Hulst School

Iron Mountain’s first city directory, published in 1892, listed the following businesses along this

block, from left to right: 303, Hancock & Sundstrom (John Hancock and William Sundstrom),

general store; 305, N.C. Schuldes, millinery; 307, Michael Carey, cigar store and factory; Sophus

Mortensen, photographer; 311, John J. Cole, gentlemen’s clothing; 313, Moriarity & Allen (James

Moriarity and William B. Allen), fashion sample rooms (saloon); 317, Mathius Swanson, jeweler;

319, R. Frezinsky, store; 321, Clinton W. Montgomery Block, John T. Spencer, grocery store; 323,

Arthur Uddenberg, druggist; 327, The Fair, A.M. Oppenheim, proprietor, general store; M.

Seibert, drug store, George F. Seibert, manager.

200 Block of South Stephenson

Avenue with First National Bank

Iron Mountain’s first city directory, published in 1892, listed the following businesses along this

block: 201, William Hocking, boarding house and sample rooms (saloon); 203, J.W. Hoose &

Co., meat market; 207, G.A. Malmgren, druggist; 208, Peter Jedda, saloon; 209, William G.

Parent, residence [Parent formerly ran a saloon, and probably Jedda was in the store room of

Parent’s building.]; 211, John Hicks, newsdealer; 213, Rabey & Thomas (John Rabey and

William D. Thomas), grocery store; 215, D.H. Lieberthal, clothing; 217, Peaslee & Douglas

(George W.R. Peaslee and Robert A. Douglas), proprietors and publishers of the Iron Mountain

Tribune and Ironwood News Record; 219, Charles E. Parent, general store; 221, Wright Brothers

(J.K. and Anson F. Wright), general store [G.T. Corning, hardware store, in this photograph]; 225,

John J. Cole, dry goods; 229, E.J. Ingram, druggist; and C.E. Stellar, jeweler; 235, First National

Bank.

William Jennings Bryan

Speaking,1896

Businesses visible in the 200 block of South Stephenson Avenue include, from left to right, the

London Store (Rusky Brothers -- Sam and Julius), 215; more of the London Store in Charles E.

Parent’s brick building, 219; G.T. Corning, hardware, 221; J.J. Cole, dry goods, 225; E.J. Ingram,

druggist, and C.E. Stellar, jeweler (according to the 1892 Iron Mountain City Directory), 229; First

National Bank, 235.

West Ludington Street, mid-

1890’s

The three buildings facing the camera (dates in parentheses refer to city directories) are, from left

to right: 108, residence of Mrs. Ann James and Mrs. Margaret Kerr (1892); Daprato & Rigassi

(John Daprato and Carles Rigassi), grocery store (1902); 104-106 (double store), Thomas

Williams, second-hand store (1902); 106, Moroni & Bena (John Moroni and James Bena), saloon

(1892); 104, Daprato & Rigassi (John Daprato and Charles Rigassi), grocery store (1892); 102,

Chinese laundry, Charles Wong, proprietor (1892); 100 (probably the same building as 102),

Frank Parent, saloon (1902). In 1905 Louis Trochinski ran a bowling alley in the right side of the

double buiding which was known as the Bijou Theater by 1907.

--On Saturday night the Giocomelli ranch on the corner

of Brown street and Merritt avenue was raided very

successfully, the officers capturing three inmates for their

trouble. The girls were lodged in jail but secured bail for their

appearance before a justice and on Monday two of the party

were arraigned in Justice Bergeron’s court. The other had

jumped her bail but it is quite probable that she will be brought

to justice. As a result of the investigation one pleaded guilty

to the charge and was fined $20 and costs, while the other was

discharged on account of not having found any evidence

against her character. There are several other places of a

similar nature conducted in this city by Italians and the police

should make an effort to exterminate them. [The Menominee

Range, Iron Mountain, Mich., Thursday, April 23, 1891]

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

A RUMPUS occurred at the darkey ranch on Merrit avenue on

Friday night. Thursday evening two of the women belonging to the

gang went out and did not return until morning. One of the women is

married and when the pair returned home the husband swore out a

warrant and had his wife’s companion arrested on the charge of being

a prostitute and having led his wife astray. A trial ensued and the

wench was sentenced to sixty days in the county jail, where she now

is. In the meantime the negro got drunk and thrashed his “better

half” for having been out all night, and the convicted woman to get

revenge had the darkey arrested for wife-beating. Another trial took

place and Mr. Nigger was found guilty and received a penalty of

thirty days at Menominee in the county jail. He was taken down on

Saturday evening but before going made the remark that he could

make things lively “roun’ dat house” when he returned. [The Iron

Range, Iron Mountain, Mich., Thursday, July 23, 1891]

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

West Side of Iron Mountain with

Crystal Lake in Background

Probably taken in the late 1890’s, the camera faces southwest overlooking a portion of the West

Side. At the left the rooftop of the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, located on the southeast corner

of Prospect Avenue and West B Street, is visible. The Central School, the two-story white building

with the large belfry located just to the right of center, faced Prospect Avenue on the east end of the

block where today’s Iron Mountain High School was built in 1911. The Central School was moved

to the site of the present Central School when construction on the new high school began. St.

Mary’s Catholic Church, right, was located at the northeast corner of South Kimberly Avenue and

West B Street. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church stood at the northwest corner of Prospect Avenue and

West A Street where St. Mary and St. Joseph Catholic Church stands today. The Patient Hotel,

later known as the Hotel Harding, can be identified by the mansard roof with dormers on its third

story. This hotel was located at the southwest corner of Carpenter Avenue and West Hughitt Street.

Should Be Stopped.

Crystal lake is becoming quite a popular resort summer evenings

and Sundays for promenades by ladies and gentlemen, driving,

etc., and it would be still more popular but for the crowds of boys

who go down there bathing. It is not pleasant for a lady and

gentleman who may be walking or driving along the Crystal lake

boulevard to meet a crowd of boys from 12 to 20 years [old]

capering about perfectly naked, neither is it decent for the boys nor

creditable for the city officials that such things are allowed to

occur. A public natatorium properly constructed and properly

conducted at this point would be no doubt a public luxury, but

decency demands that boys and young men should not be

permitted to expose themselves in so public a place. [The Iron

Range, Iron Mountain, Mich., Thursday, June 16, 1892]

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

John Pipp’s Saloon, North Side

In about 1895 a large crowd posed for the photographer outside of John Pipp’s saloon,

located at 418 Millie Street, on Iron Mountain’s North Side.

Their Last Fight.

A crowd of Italians were encouraging a dog fight

between Jedda’s saloon and Desautel’s shoemaker’s shop last

Friday evening, when Marshal Catlin stepped into the crowd

and told them to separate the dogs. No, they wouldn’t

separate them, they wanted to see them fight. “All right,” says

the marshal, “I’ll separate them,” and he pulled out his

revolver and banged away. The dogs quit fighting right off.

The Menominee Range, Iron Mountain, Mich.

Thursday, August 15, 1889

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

McKinley’s Memorial

Procession, September19,1901

Iron Mountain, like the rest of the nation, mourned the death of President William McKinley,

who was assassinated by anarchist Leon Czolgosz while receiving callers at the Pan-

American Exposition in Buffalo, New York, on September 6, 1901. McKinley died

September 14 and Iron Mountain’s memorial services procession of about 2,000 marchers,

who were moving south on Stephenson Avenue between A Street and B Street when this

photograph was taken. The unoccupied site on the west side of the street was where the

Commercial Bank (now the Wells Fargo Bank) was constructed in 1929.

Salute the Flag.

It is a fact worthy of note that, on a legal holiday, when

there is a parade and the national banner is flying at the corner

of Stephenson avenue and Ludington street, the paraders

salute the flag. This was particularly noticeable last Monday

during the parade of the Scandinavian societies and the Eagles.

The salute was almost unanimous. And, too, the paraders

were nearly all foreign born. It is an occurrence witnessed in

few cities.

Iron Mountain Press, Iron Mountain, Mich.

Thursday, September 9, 1915

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Thanksgiving Turkeys, Hoose &

Eaton Meat Market, ca. 1900

Thanksgiving Turkeys, Hoose & Eaton Meat Market, Iron Mountain, ca. 1900

Sam Khoury’s Confectionery

Store, Early 1900’s

Sam Khoury’s Confectionery Store, Iron Mountain, early 1900’s

Von Platen Sawmill, ca. 1910-

1911

Von Platen Sawmill, Iron Mountain, ca. 1910-1911

The Midtown Mall and the V. A. Hospital now located here.

Henry J. Ford, the manufacturer of the famous Ford

automobile, arrived in the city last Sunday and is the guest of

Edward G. Kingsford. Mr. Ford is an enthusiastic nimrod and

expects to spend a week or ten days hunting deer in the

vicinity.

Iron Mountain Press, Iron Mountain, Mich.

Thursday, November 11, 1909

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

John L. Buell

JOHN LANE BUELL

(1836-1917)

John Lane Buell, a pioneer explorer of the

Menominee Iron Range and the founder of

Quinnesec, was born October 12, 1836, in Indiana.

After completing his public school education, he

took a two-year scientific course at the Norwich

Military Institute in Norwich, Vermont.

Buell went to Leavenworth, Kansas, in the fall of

1857, and on October 20, 1858, together with

some young companions he went to Colorado. In

1859 he surveyed and platted the present city of

Boulder. Buell later traveled throughout the

southwest and was in Texas when that state

succeeded from the Union. Securing passage on a

ship and landing in New York on May 2, 1861, he

promptly enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving until

after the Battle of Antietam, when he returned

home due to his father’s illness.

In 1867 he went to Menominee, Michigan, where

he farmed, published The Menominee Journal and

practiced law. He first came to the Menominee

Range in 1871. On his second visit, in May, 1873,

he began exploring and discovered what became

the Quinnesec Mine. He took up a homestead

claim, and in 1876 he platted the Village of

Quinnesec on his property.

THE MENOMINEE RANGE.

At the Quinnesec mine, the present terminus of the

Menominee Range railroad, but very little has been done this

season. The location consists of one good log house, besides

two or three other larger buildings in the course of

construction, intended for hotels. It is the purpose, however,

of those interested to soon commence mining operations here.

The Mining Journal, Marquette, Marquette Co., Mich.

June 16, 1877

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Quinnesec – Quinnesec Hotel

Dating about 1880-1881, this view of the east side of Quinnesec Avenue looking north in Quinnesec

encompassed the area between Pine Street on the south and Brule Street and beyond on the north. The

Chicago & North-Western Railway tracks are in the foreground. The Quinnesec Hotel was managed by

A. Clement then. A bit farther up the street is the Commercial Dining Hall,run by W.W. Felch. Wright

Brothers (Jason K.and Anson W.) ran a general store run just up the block. The two-story brick building

on the north side of Paint Street is Buell’s Opera House.

QUINNESEC – A stage line between this place and

Florence is soon to be started. People will not wait for the

railroad to be completed before visiting that wonderful

locality, and consequently a stage line is bound to pay well. –

The Menominee Ranger

The Mining Journal, Marquette, Marquette Co., Mich.

January 31, 1880

QUINNESEC – The stage leaves for Florence location

immediately upon the arrival of the train from the east. – The

Menominee Ranger

The Mining Journal, Marquette, Marquette Co., Mich.

February 7, 1880

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

QUINNESEC QUOTUM.

Twenty-five Indians in town this week and not a scalp

missing.

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

Saturday, November 14, 1885

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Buell’s Opera House - 1880

John Lane Buell’s Opera House, ca. 1880

Northeast Corner of Quinnesec Avenue and Paint Street

QUINNESEC QUOTUM.

Three stores, five saloons, two meat markets in town,

so we have lots to eat, and something to drink.

The temperance society is doing a good business, and

so are the saloon keepers.

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

Saturday, January 2, 1886

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Quinnesec – Pioneer School

Built in 1877 by John Lane Buell, the Pioneer School, the first constructed in Breitung Township,

was located on the southwest corner of Bluff Street and Paint Street [now U.S. 2]. A second story

was being added in late October, 1879, to accommodate all the pupils in attendance. The addition

was finished by mid-December, when the workmen enclosed the grounds with a fence. A one-story

library building facing Bluff Street was attached to the school by a hallway and was undoubtedly

the area’s first such repository. This photograph probably dates to the 1880’s.

WHEN a Quinnesec man wanted his picture in a heroic

attitude, the photographer took him when he was refusing a

drink.

The Florence Mining News, Florence, Florence Co., Wis.

September 24, 1881

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Quinnesec – Garfield School

Quinnesec’s Garfield School formally opened December 23, 1897.

Quinnesec – Street Scene, 1903

Buildings pictured here which burned in the fire located on the west side (left) of Quinnesec

Avenue were Thomas McKenna’s saloon, James Malone’s saloon, John Marsch’s livery stable,

Mrs. P. Smith’s home, Mrs. Patrick McKenna’s store and saloon, a store belonging to the estate of

Mrs. John McKenna, Charles Paquette’s barbershop and J.H. McKenna’s store. On the east side

(right) of Quinnesec Avenue were two stores owned by Mrs. John St. Denis, John Crane’s vacant

saloon, Matt Bryngelson’s vacant saloons (two buildings on one lot), the Wright Brothers’ vacant

store and two vacant lots at the corner. The first sign on the right reads Miss L. St. Denis & Co.

Luella St. Denis was the postmistress and ran a small stationery and confectionery store in

conjunction. The second sign identifies The Club which must have been a saloon in John Crane’s

building. Note the hitching posts in front of the buildings and the board sidewalks.

Quinnesec After the Fire, 1906

This postcard view, taken looking southeast shortly after the 1906 Quinnesec fire, shows what

remained of the community’s business district. The two-story building at the left was Buell’s Opera

House. At the far right was the St. Denis home, one of two buildings which survived the fire visible

in this photograph. The other is the white building in the center of the photograph which was the

Catholic rectory. The Church of the Immaculate Conception, just east of the rectory, was destroyed

in the conflagration. The structure under construction at the corner opposite the opera house was

built by John McKenna. Lumber for this building was delivered on Monday, May 21, just three

days following the fire, and the carpenters finished construction on Monday, June 11. That evening

a dance was held in the new building to celebrate, and then John Biolo opened his saloon there. The

vacant lots to the right of McKenna’s new building and across the street previously contained

Quinnesec’s business district.

Norway Township - 1880 Norway Township

Organized December 30, 1880

Part of Menominee County

SETTLEMENTS

Frederickton, 1879

Ingalsdorf, 1879

Norway,1879

South Norway, 1894

[never populated]

Sturgeon City, 1894

[never populated]

Parmenter’s Mill, 1892*

Sturgeon Mill, 1896

Vulcan, 1877

*Name changed to Sturgeon

Mill

Norway Mine, May, 1886

Taken in May, 1886, this view, looking east, shows part of the Norway Mine, located on the N

1/2 of the SE 1/4 of Section 5, T39N, R29W. The Norway Mine was one of the few Dickinson

County mines worked as an open pit mine.

NORWAY – This new town, the site of which was only

a few weeks ago laid out by C.L. Wendel, Esq., is beginning to

assume such an air of activity and importance, that it is

deemed worthy the conspicuity of a department in the

RANGER, which is accordingly granted.

The first building on the new site was honored by a

house warming in the shape of a regular old-fashioned dance,

Tuesday evening – before the shingles had been placed on the

roof. -- The Menominee Ranger

The Mining Journal, Marquette, Marquette Co., Mich.

August 23, 1879

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Main Street (Old Town),

Norway, ca.1908

The area in Norway known as Old Town can be seen in this 1908 postcard view of Main Street (now

Hillcrest Drive) looking north, taken from Central Avenue intersection. The building at the end of the

street, once the Gaynor Hotel, was located on Summit Avenue (which no longer exists) and marked the

north end of Main Street. The intersection with Cyclops Avenue, one block south of Summit Avenue,

was about two buildings north of where the wagon was hitched on the left side of the street. The four

stores located at this intersection in 1907 fronted Cyclops Avenue and included Joseph Ruwitch & Son’s

general store, M. St. Peter’s general store, Alexis Patenaude’s drugstore and Fred Rogers’ saloon.

--The habit of stealing whips, lap robes and other

articles from carriages left standing on the street, is becoming

epidemic, and some one will have to take a bad dose of

medicine if it continues.

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

Saturday, October 1, 1887

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Southeast View of Norway, ca.

1912

Although postmarked June 17, 1914, this postcard view of southeast Norway was taken prior to

August 12, 1912, when the high school building pictured in the upper right was destroyed by fire.

Directly below the high school building is the McKinley School. The intersection of Ninth

Avenue (left) and Norway Street (right) is in the foreground. The church at the far right was the

Norwegian Lutheran Church. Nelson Street (now Main Street) was one block east of Norway

Street. Buildings listed on the east side of the 300 block of Nelson Street in the 1913 Directory

of the Cities of Iron Mountain and Norway and Dickinson County were: 301, Mrs. D.W. Martin,

millinery; 305, Peter O. Johnson, confectionery and ice cream parlor; 307, Norway Hotel and

Restaurant, Jacob Schmidt, proprietor; 309, Ira E. Carley, confectionery and notions; 311, Otto H.

Peterson, barbershop; 317, Alphonse J. De Roech, bakery and general merchandise; 323, Norway

Hardware Company, John E. Anderson, proprietor; 329-333, Joseph Ruwitch & Sons (Simon and

Julius), dry goods, clothing, furniture.

West Side of Nelson Street (Main

Street), ca. 1914

Postmarked February 7, 1914, this postcard view shows the west side of Norway’s Nelson Street

(now Main Street) looking south. The following businesses and their respective addresses were

listed in the 1913 Directory of the Cities of Iron Mountain and Norway and Dickinson County,

beginning with the Masonic Block to the right in the above photograph: 318, Fit Well Clothing

Store, Lazarus Charash, proprietor; 320, Axel Aronson & Emil Eklund, groceries and meats;

322, Norway Clothing House, Anton Anderson, proprietor; 322, Michael St. Peter & Son

(Frank), insurance and real estate; 324, Paul Jacobson, druggist; 330, The Current; 330, Edward

Melin & John Larson, saloon; 330, J.C. Knight, lawyer; 332, William H. Weber, druggist; 400,

First National Bank; 400, Dr. Boyd L. Kelley, dentist; 404, Gust Albert Malmgren, druggist;

406, John Perkins & Son (Samuel), general merchandise; 410, Waters & Erickson, furniture and

undertaking, Berger Erickson, manager; 412, John De Roeck, saloon; 414, Andrew T. Sethney &

Co., groceries; 416, Arvid E. Asp & Co., dry goods and gentlemen’s furnishings (A.E. Asp, J.E.

Anderson, Gust Anderson); 418, John Eklund, jeweler; 420-424, Ramsdell’s Hardware &

Crockery Store (Wilmer M. Ramsdell).

Spotted Horse, the one and only Indian doctor,

continues to wear buckskin and perscribe [sic] for the ills,

fancied and otherwise, of the Norway people.

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

August 4, 1888

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Interior of John E. Eklund’s

Jewelry Store, ca. 1907

Born in Sweden in 1845, John E. Eklund immigrated to the United States in 1879, coming

to the Menominee Iron Range in June. Eklund began working as a contractor and builder

as Norway was established and two years later began his jewelry business on the village’s

Main Street. This interior view, thought to date to 1907, shows Eklund behind the counter

in his shop at 318 Main Street. Note the Victor cylinder phonographs with morning-glory

horns on the top shelf at the left and the selection of elaborate kerosene parlor lamps and

shelf clocks on the top shelf at the back of the store. In the spring of 1909 Eklund decided

to build a two-story building adjoining the Ramsdell Block at 418 Nelson Street, moving

into his new quarters in 1910.

Interior of Ramsdell’s Hardware

& Crockery Store, ca. 1905

Wilmer M. Ramsdell moved his stock of hardware from the Flanagan Block in Norway’s Old Town

to his new brick store at 420-424 Nelson Street (Main Street) on May 1, 1905. This photograph,

possibly taken shortly thereafter, shows Ramsdell (left), an unidentified customer (center) and son

Ellis T. Ramsdell, a clerk in the store (right). Note the whips hanging against the wall at the left and

the parlor stoves at the right. The store burned February 3, 1977.

The proprietor of the den of ill-shame, commonly

known as “the lake,” has, like the Arab, folded his tent and

stolen away. The shebang was closed this week, the furniture,

soiled doves and all being shipped to Marinette. This is the

result of efforts being made by the authorities to clean out all

such institutions that exist in the county. Let the good work so

well begun be permitted to perambulate to the bitter end.

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

Saturday, April 18, 1885

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Norway High School, ca. 1908

Norway constructed a new $40,000 high school in 1906 where the present Norway school

complex is located. A large assembly hall, four recitation rooms and two laboratories were

located on the upper floor. Four classrooms were reserved for the upper grades on the first floor,

where the superintendent’s office, school library and studio and consultation rooms for music,

drawing, domestic science and manual training were also located. The basement housed the

manual training and domestic science departments. This school was totally destroyed by fire on

August 28, 1912.

Menominee River Brewing

Company Beer Wagon, ca. 1914-

1915

A postcard view taken in about 1914-1915 shows the Menominee River Brewing Company beer

wagon in front of Louis Cristanelli’s saloon at 1009 Railroad Street in Norway. Big Ed Van Dam

drove the beer wagon, while Andrew Cristanelli (left) and an unidentified man (right) sat on the top

barrels. Joseph Wassa, wearing a long coat, and Louis Cristanelli stood alongside the loaded

wagon. Note the fly nets worn by the horses.

O.C. Lumber Co. Plant, Sturgeon

Mills, ca. 1909

Postmarked Vulcan, Michigan, July 15, 1909, this postcard shows a partial view of the O.C.

Lumber Company sawmill at Sturgeon Mills, a small settlement located on the Sturgeon River

between Vulcan and Loretto. Note the logs being pulled up into the sawmill from the millpond at

the right.

Lewis Young Whitehead

LEWIS YOUNG WHITEHEAD

(1833-1908)

Lewis Young Whitehead was born at

Hurdstown, New Jersey, on April 6, 1833. He

arrived in Marquette County in the early

1860’s, and in 1866 he went to Lawton,

Michigan, as one of the officers of the

Michigan Central Iron Company. He married

Jennie Rice, a teacher, of Battle Creek,

Michigan, in 1866. In 1868 they went to

Negaunee, and Lewis again working with

mining concerns.

On September 18, 1872, he left Negaunee with

a party of twelve men, as assistant to Dr.

Nelson Powell Hulst, a young chemist and

geologist working for the Milwaukee Iron

Company, to explore the newly-discovered iron

fields in northern Menominee County. He

settled in what became Vulcan, originally

known as the Breitung Mine, in about 1877.

MENOMINEE RANGE.

The name of the Breitung mine has been changed to

Vulcan, which will also be the name of the new post-office,

which has been applied for.

The Mining Journal, Marquette, Marquette Co., Mich.

October 6, 1877

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Vulcan, Vulcan Hotel, 1880

The Vulcan Hotel, said to have been opened by Lewis Young Whitehead in 1878, was the first

hotel on the Menominee Range. In late November, 1879, workmen were putting up a large

addition to accommodate guests. This photograph was taken October 1, 1880, by a Green

Bay photographer. The hotel was located on the west side of Mission Street, and some early

log residences typical of early settlements on the Menominee Range are visible to the north of

the hotel. Note the combination of log and board-and-batten construction and the unusual

fence. In addition to serving as a hotel, the structure later served as a store and was Vulcan’s

post office until the new town hall was erected in 1904. In October, 1905, Whitehead razed

this pioneer landmark.

Vulcan, Vulcan Mine, 1886

Taken in May, 1886, this view, looking northeast, shows the Vulcan Mine, located on the E 1/2 of

the NE 1/4 of Section 8, T39N, R29W. Notice the huge timbers with rough sides in the

foreground and the large number of logs piled in the upper left of the photograph.

Vulcan, East Vulcan Mine, 1886

Taken in May, 1886, this view, looking northeast, shows the East Vulcan Mine, located on the S1/2

of the S1/2 of Section 11, T39N, R29W. A shaft house appears above the tramways and stockpiles

in the upper left. Notice how the land has been clear-cut with few trees remaining on the horizon.

Felch Township Organized October 9, 1882

Part of Marquette County

SETTLEMENTS

Felch*

Felch Mountain, 1881*

Groveland

Henderson

Metropolitan, 1881*

Theodore, 1881

Turner, E&LS R.R. Station

*Platted as Metropolitan, but

name changed to Felch

Felch Township - 1882

Alpheus Felch

Alpheus Felch

(1804-1896)

Alpheus Felch, for whom the Felch Mountain

Range, Felch Township and the Village of Felch

were named, was born in 1804 in Limerick,

Maine. An orphan by the age of four, Felch was

raised successively by his grandfathers and an

aunt. After graduating from Bowdoin College in

1827, he studied law and was admitted to the bar

at Bangor, Maine in 1830.

Due to poor health, he was advised to move West.

Reaching Monroe, Michigan, in 1833, he began to

practice law. Felch became politically active,

serving successively as state bank commissioner

(1838), auditor-general (1842), justice of the state

supreme court (1843) and governor, serving from

January 1, 1846, to March 3, 1847. In 1846 Felch

was elected to the United States Senate as a

Democrat, causing him to resign as governor.

During his one term as senator, largely through his

efforts a bill was passed by the Senate providing

for the construction of a canal at Sault Ste. Marie.

Felch settled in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in 1843 and

upon his return in 1856 he opened a law office

there. He was a professor of law at the University

of Michigan from 1879 to 1883. He died in 1896.

RANGE ITEMS.

-- Felch will run a tri-weekly stage from Norway to

Felch mountain [sic], leaving on Monday, Wednesday and

Friday, at 9:45 a.m. -- The Iron Chronicle, 7th. [The Iron

Chronicle, Norway, May 7, 1881]

The Iron Port, Escanaba, Delta County, Mich.

May 14, 1881

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

RANGE ITEMS.

--Three town sites have been laid out in the Felch

mountain [sic] neighborhood and named, respectively, Felch

Mountain, Metropolitan and Theodore. Felch Mountain is

near the Warner location, occupying the s ½ se ¼ 29, 42, 28;

Metropolitan adjoins the Metropolitan mine property, on 32,

42, 28, and is the property of that company; and Theodore is

the property of the canal company and adjoins the

Northwestern mine on 29, 42, 28. Two of them, we can not

[sic] say which, will doubtless be fizzles.

The Iron Port, Escanaba, Delta County, Mich.

July 9, 1881

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Metropolitan Street Scene, 1902

The portion of Metropolitan’s business district in Felch Township visible in this 1902

photograph includes, from right to left, the Chicago & North-Western Railway Depot, the

Western Union office, an ice house and a store building in which the post office was located.

Note the elevated board sidewalk used to facilitate loading and unloading supplies from

railroad cars and the early handcar in the foreground.

Metropolitan, Rian Hotel, 1902

The Andrew Rian family posed for the photographer in front of the Rian Hotel in Metropolitan

(later Felch) in their three-seated wagon in about 1902. Olaf, Anna and Minnie Rian are seated in

the front seat. Mr. and Mrs. Andrew (Anna Beseth) Rian are seated in the middle seat with Gilbert.

Mr. and Mrs. Martin (Mary Beseth) Rian are seated in the back seat. Andrew Rian and Martin

Rian were not related, although both came from Borsa, Trondheim, Norway.

Metropolitan Store, Felch, ca.

J.B. Fry was running the Metropolitan Hotel in 1889, when Felch Township was still a part of

Marquette County. Fry continued as the hotel’s proprietor until at least 1895. John J. Ovist

acquired the building between 1903 and 1905, operating a general store. The store retained the

name Metropolitan Store even after the settlement took the name Felch in the latter part of the

first decade of the twentieth century when this photograph was taken. Ovist sold his business to

Carl A. Carlson, John Blomquist and Iver Blomquist in late March or early April, 1916. They

operated the business under the name of the Felch Supply Company.

FELCH FACTS.

Carl Carlson and family are once again residents of

Felch. Mr. Carlson has charge of Rian’s store. The business

portion of Metropolitan is practically shut down, there being

nothing left of its glorious self but the post-office and station;

everything is now so quiet, so very quiet

Iron Mountain Press, Iron Mountain, Dickinson Co., Mich.

Thursday, February 28, 1907.

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Felch, Main Street, ca.1916

This 1916 postcard view of Felch’s Main Street was taken from Solberg’s Hill looking north. The

Chicago & North-Western Railway Depot is visible in front of the passenger car at the right. Behind

this passenger car the residence of R.R. Burkhardt, section foreman, can also be seen. The second

building beyond the Burkhardt house was Andrew Rian’s new store, a stone and brick structure

erected during the summer of 1912. Rian’s former store was located directly across the street.

Beyond Rian’s new store is the Rian Hotel, and beyond the hotel is the Rian residence. Dr.

Whiteshield, of Detroit, decided to open a practice in Felch in August, 1910, and leased the residence

in which he practiced both medicine and dentistry, and also operated a drug store in the basement.

Note the early automobiles along the street.

“THEODORE” is the name of the Canal Co.’s new

town at Felch Mountain. Theodore M. Davis, the president of

the company, is named after it.

The Florence Mining News, Florence, Florence Co., Wis.

Saturday, July 9, 1881

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Theodore, Turkish Remedy Co.

The sign on the side of William Wickman’s wagon reads Turkish Remedy Co. Family

Medicines and Extracts. Wickman, pictured here in front of his home in Theodore in the

early teens, as a familiar sight as he peddled his wares form house to house throughout

rural Dickinson County.

Sagola Township Organized March 9, 1892

Set Off from Felch Township

SETTLEMENTS

Cary’s Spur, 1890

Channing, 1893

Floodwood, 1887

Ford Siding*

Golden, E&LS R.R. Station

Holmes Siding**

Randville, 1890

Sagola, 1889

*Original name for Channing

**Original name for Sagola

Sagola Township - 1892

Channing Advertisement

This advertisement, placed by the

Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul

Railway to “boost” the new town

of Channing on its Lake Superior

Division, appeared in the July

13,1893 edition of The Range-

Tribune, an Iron Mountain

newspaper.

John Parke Channing

John Parke Channing

(1863-1942)

The Village of Channing was named for J.

(John) Parke Channing, a highly-respected

mining engineer who was exploring in the area

near the beginning of his career. In an undated

article from Cinders and Sawdust, Channing

himself recorded how Ford’s Siding, the original

name of this station, became Channing in the

spring of 1892.

...One morning, when getting off at Ford’s

Siding, I was astonished to see that a box car

had been set off on the side of the right of way as

a railway station, and on it was the sign

“Channing” Thus was Ford’s Siding

transformed over night into Channing. That

particular night I spent in the box car, laying on

the floor, since unfortunately I had not brought

any blankets with me. I will have to admit,

contrary to the general impression, that I had

nothing to do with the laying out of the townsite

of Channing. My work was confined entirely to

exploration work in the iron ranges west of that

place.

While at Channing the other day we saw a plat of the

new town laid out there by the C., M. & St. P. railroad

company. A new and neat depot has just been completed by

the company and work will soon be begun on a new building

to be used as an eating house. It begins the intention of the

railroad company to so arrange their time table as to bring

Ontonagon trains there in time for breakfast and supper,

instead of Iron Mountain. Lots are selling lively. – Ontonagon

Herald.

The Range- Tribune, Iron Mountain, Dickinson Co., Mich.

July 27, 1893

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Channing, Railroad Depot, ca.

1912

Engine No. 531 had just pulled in at the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul Railway Depot in

Channing when this postcard view was taken in about 1912. The man wearing light-colored

overalls was Ben Burman. At the extreme right behind the depot a portion of Vermullen’s ice

cream parlor can be seen.

Round House and Train Yards at

Channing, ca. 1909

This postcard view of Channing’s railroad yards below, taken in 1909, shows the round house,

center, and other railroad buildings. Note the three steam engines and the railroad ties stacked

and scattered.

Improvements at Channing.

Quite a number of important improvements are being

made by the St. Paul company at Channing and that little city

promises to be a much livelier place by another year. A four

stall addition is now being added to the round house, which

will give it a capacity of 12 engines and work has already been

started upon a company hotel for the accommodation of road

employes.

Iron Mountain Press, Iron Mountain, Dickinson Co., Mich.

Thursday, November 14, 1901

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Channing, Railroad Street, 1909

This postcard view, looking south at a portion of the east side of Channing’s Railroad Street, was

taken in 1909. R.E. Boll ran the general store at the far left. Fred Gage ran the St. Paul Saloon on

the left side of the building with two awnings and Paul Khoury began operating his general store

on the right side in mid-March, 1910, after this photograph was taken. Mrs. Mary Richards ran the

Hotel Richards in the building with the large front porch between 1905 and 1907, and perhaps

longer. W.T. Stevens had a billiard parlor and barbershop in the building at the end of the block.

Floyd Duchaine ran a billiard parlor there by 1919. Across the side street the Maccabees Hall was

located in the single-story structure.

Build Eating-House.

The St. Paul company will erect an eating-house at

Channing. The building will be 24x70 feet in size. The

lumber has arrived on the ground, and work is to commence at

once. It is said that Mrs. W.E. Richards, formerly of this city,

will have charge of the place.

Iron Mountain Press, Iron Mountain, Dickinson Co., Mich.

Thursday, October 31, 1901

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Eating-House at Channing.

The new eating-house of the St. Paul road at Channing,

which has been building since last fall, is completed and will

be opened early next week by Mrs. W.M. White, of Green

Bay. This eating-house will be a great convenience to the

trainmen on the ore runs between Iron Mountain and Crystal

Falls and the ore docks at Escanaba. There has been a

deficiency of both eating and sleeping places on this run and

the men have suffered some on account of it, so they will

welcome the opening of the new house.

Iron Mountain Press, Iron Mountain, Dickinson Co., Mich.

Thursday, February 15, 1902

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Channing, Railroad Street, 1910

This postcard view of Channing showing the east side of Railroad Street looking south from the

northern end of the street probably dates from the late oughts or early teens. At the far left is the

Railroad Eating House, operated for many years by Mrs. T.M. White, who sold her interest to

Wilbur McClure in mid-July 1912. The occupants of the next four buildings have not been

identified. The building with the long front porch was Mrs. E. Vermullen’s hotel and saloon. The

next building was R.E. Boll’s general store followed by the Belsch building in which Paul Khoury

opened his general store in mid-March, 1910.

Bought a Town.

John Harrington, the enterprising saloon man,

familiarly known as Jack Harrington, has purchased the whole

of Floodwood, up the road, and will conduct the saloon

business there as well as the Franklin House in this city

[Marquette]. The town, which is a new one, is built on a forty

acres, which belonged to one man who recently died. John

purchased the whole plat for $1,900, and now has a monopoly

of the sale of all goods in his line. The business is said to be

worth a profit of $5,000 a year. – Marquette Times.

The Range-Tribune, Iron Mountain, Dickinson Co., Mich.

Thursday, February 2, 1893

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

-- The location formerly known as Holmes Siding,

about 20 miles above Iron Mountain on the line of the M. &

N. Ry., has been named “Zagola” [sic], and a post office has

been established. This is the property of the Laing Lumber

Co., and a thriving village will probably be built up by the

Co’s operations.

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

October 19, 1889

THE village that is being formed by the Laing Lumber

Company, at the point on the M. & N. heretofore known as

Holmes’ Siding, has been named Sagola, and will be provided

with a post office as soon as Uncle Sam can get round to it.

The Menominee Range, Iron Mountain, Mich.

October 24, 1889

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

This postcard view of Sagola, probably taken in the early teens, shows the village looking

toward the south from the lumberyard. Two tramways can be seen curving to the southeast.

In the distance the town hall is visible, located at the southeast corner of First Street (running

north and south) and Sagola Avenue (running east and west). One block farther south the

Catholic church and the schoolhouse, constructed in 1908, can be seen on the west side of

First Street past the intersection with Channing Avenue.

Sagola With Stacked Lumber

Probably taken in the 1890’s, this photograph shows the first sawmill of the Sagola Lumber

Company and the millpond. Note the water barrels which have been placed along the ridge of the

rooftop for use in case of fire. The wire cage on the smokestack helped contain sparks. The tramway

trails off to the left where the lumber was stored. On the lower level to the left of the center of the

photograph a horse-drawn slab cart is being loaded from a chute between the upper and lower levels

of the mill.

Sagola Sawmill 1

Sagola Sawmill 1

Conant & Son, Escanaba photographers, probably took this view of the Sagola Lumber

Company’s first sawmill when they had their tent pitched in Sagola in September, 1905. The

endless conveyor brought the logs form the millpond into the mill. The transfer shed, located

at the far right, was where the boards were sorted by variety of wood and then stacked in the

yards to air dry. The planing mill can be seen at the left in the background near the millpond.

This postcard view was taken sometime after the second Sagola Lumber Company sawmill began

operating on March 28, 1911. It replaced the original sawmill which was struck by lightning on

the evening of September 11, 1910. A fire which began in the cupola soon engulfed the entire

structure. The men in the foreground are unloading blocks of ice from flatcars at the company

store. Note the immense piles of logs awaiting their trip through the mill to be converted into

lumber.

Sagola Sawmill 2

NEWS GOSSIP FROM SAGOLA.

The total weight of venison shipped from this station

by freight and express during the hunting season was 17,500

pounds.

Iron Mountain Press, Iron Mountain, Dickinson Co., Mich.

December 8, 1904

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Sagola Bicyclists, July 4, 1905

Nine Sagola bicyclists in their finest summer apparel posed in front of the Sagola Lumber Company

Store on July 4, 1905. The store’s warehouse can be seen in the background at the right. Mary

Broadland (fourth from left), waved a flag over her head. Maude Wifler stood third from right.

Others said to be pictured here are Jacob Johnson, ----- Yuppenlotz, Hulda Wiberg, Louis Byers and

----- Price.

Waucedah Township Organized March 9, 1892

Set Off from Breen Township

SETTLEMENTS

Loretto, 1892

Ruprechts, 1880

Waucedah, 1877

Waucedah Township - 1892

LETTER FROM THE MENOMINEE RANGE MINES

…There has been a new town site laid out and it is

called “Waucedah.” About half a mile from the mine the

company are [sic] building a number of quite neat cottages at

the Breen location.

The Mining Journal, Marquette, Marquette Co., Mich.

June 9, 1877

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Waucedah,1881

1 – Breen Mine 2 – Emmet Mine 3 – Waucedah House 4 – Forest House

5 – Town Hall 6 – School House 7 – Post Office 8 – Railroad Depot

WAUCEDAH WHISPERINGS.

On Sunday last our peaceful village was aroused by a

couple of women whose tongues would wake the dead. We

will withhold their names this time, but if the same scene

occurs again on the public streets, they will be prosecuted to

the full extent of the law and their names given to the public

whom they daily honor (?) with their presence. JUMBO

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

Saturday, October 24, 1885

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

West Branch Township Organized October 19,1908

Set Off from Breen and Felch

Townships

SETTLEMENTS

Alfred, 1903

Bryden, 1901*

Kentucky Town, 1911

Ralph, 1904

Russell , E&LS R.R. Station

Ward, E&LS R.R. Station

*Originally Bryden, but

renamed

West Branch Township - 1908

Ralph Looking North

Looking north from the railroad bed, this postcard view of Ralph was taken June 5, 1921. At

the right is the Ralph General Store owned by Otto Hintz. At the end of the road is the school

house, built in 1909. The log building on the left, considered to be the first structure in Ralph,

was built by the Mann Brothers Lumber Company, of Oconto, Wisconsin, as a headquarters

for their operations which began in the mid-1880’s.. The West Branch Township Hall, built in

1917-1918, is north of this log building. Electricity was generated by a plant owned by Hintz,

who sold power to nearby residents. Ralph was established in 1901 as a lumbering settlement

and railroad station on the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railroad. The post office was originally

named Bryden, but was renamed Ralph on June 6, 1904, for Ralph Wells, son of John W.

Wells, of Menominee, a lumberman operating in the area at that time.

Ralph Looking South

Looking south from near the school house, this postcard view, also taken June 5, 1921, shows a

log home with horses tethered in front and the Ralph General Store with the oil shed on the north

side of the building. The general store had rooms for rent on the second floor. The Escanaba &

Lake Superior Railroad depot is on the right. Telegraph messages were sent and received there,

and before the township hall was built township meetings were held in the depot.

Ralph RR. Platform with Deer

The loading platform of the Escanaba & Lake Superior Railway depot at Ralph was crowded

with deer awaiting shipment to the homes of the hunters who filled their licenses in West Branch

Township. Although this photograph was taken in about 1915, similar scenes were common in

Ralph during the first decade of the twentieth century as well. All five men are unidentified.

THE END

On Monday last a house of ill repute at Iron Mountain

was raided, and 4 men and 9 women taken into custody. They

were all taken to Menominee and are now boarding at the

Hotel de Stevens, preparatory to having their future place of

residence designated by his honor Judge Grant.

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

Saturday, October 2, 1886

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Yesterday Sheriff Stiles arrested three men and three

woman, at Iron Mountain, on charges of keeping and being

inmates of a house of ill-fame. The examination will be held

at that place to-day.

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

Saturday, January 22, 1887

--The dance house inmates arrested on complaint of

John Morrison, charged with burning Morrison’s den on the

Menominee river at Twin Falls, were all discharged by Judge

Coleman, after a preliminary examination.

The Florence Mining News, Florence, Wis.

Saturday, January 22, 1887

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

--John Morrison, one of Iron Mountain’s prominent

citizens, was arrested on Thursday for having kept a house of

ill-fame. He gave bonds to appear for examination on

Monday next.

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

Saturday, January 29, 1887

--On Monday the examination of John Morrison, on a

charge of keeping a house of ill-fame, was held at Iron

Mountain, and resulted in the prisoner being held to answer to

the Circuit Court, in bonds of $5,000. In default of bonds, he

was committed to the county jail.

The Current, Norway, Menominee County, Mich.

Saturday, February 6, 1887

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

Soiled Doves Caged.

For some time past the soiled doves belonging to the resort across

the Menominee, in Wisconsin, have made Rome howl in this village, and

always until Wednesday have they eluded the grasp of the officers. A

carriage containing a bevy of these unfortunates rolled into town on the

afternoon of that day, and the liquor they drank and the obscene language

they used freely, caused two of the party to be arrested by Officer Truscott.

They were jailed. Late in the night a hanger-on of the resort who attempted

to furnish liquor to a bird through the window of the lock-up, was caught in

the act, and was given time to escape. In the morning they were brought up

for a hearing and both pleaded guilty. Josie Miller came before Justice Hay

and was assessed $21 or 30 days and Annie Seymour appeared in Judge

Patenaude’s court and was given $20 or 20 days in jail. Neither having the

required cash to pay the fine, [they] were returned to the lock-up. Later in

the day the amounts were paid and they were allowed to go.--The Current [The Menominee Range, Iron Mountain, Mich., Thursday, June 8, 1889]

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!

From 1787

Horizontal Template

THANKS

Horizontal Template

From 1787

Vertical Template

From 1787

EXTRA! EXTRA!

READ ALL ABOUT IT!